Pages

Sunday, September 04, 2016

#DigLitSunday -- My Digital Writer's Notebook

Because my phone is with me most all the time, it is my most reliable writer's notebook. I use the notes and voice memo to capture fleeting ideas, and my photos constitute hundreds of seed ideas.

Just this morning, I took advantage of the cool, crisp (temporary) fall-like weather to take a quick bike ride before we hit the farmers' markets for tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, apples, and French pastries. The very tip-top leaves in the trees look like they are feeling the shift of the seasons. I started getting lines of a poem, and pulled over to record a few words before I lost them. I continued to compose in my head as I rode, and I pulled over one more time before I headed up the long hill towards home and recorded the key words I'd come up with. As soon as I got home, I sat down to my paper/pencil writer's notebook, and captured the first draft of my poem. I've tinkered with it several more times throughout the day, and I think it will be ready for Poetry Friday next week!

YES! I had to be careful to pay enough attention to the bike path and all the runners to stay safe, but the whole time I was riding, I was writing...in my head (and repeating my ideas over and over so I wouldn't forget them until I got to a spot to stop and record them!)

I do this all the time when I am out walking with my dog. I take my phone so I can take a picture of something that inspires me or listen to a friend's message or compose a few lines. When I use the notes app with the microphone, it's often hilarious what my phone thinks I said. I may do a poem like this one day.

Thank you for giving us a peek into how your wonderful poetry begins, Mary Lee. I rely on my phone for taking photos while I'm out walking, also. Sometimes I'll record a video so I can capture sound, too. Looking forward to reading your poem on Friday!

Love this peek into your process! There are many times where I think of a writing idea, or a specific line, and by the time I find paper, it's gone. I'm going to remember from now on that my phone is usually close by!Thanks! And can't wait to read Friday's poem!

We Are ALSO Proud Members of the Nerdy Book Club

Celebrate!

About Us

Franki and Mary Lee are both teachers, and have been for more than 20 years.

Franki is a fifth grade teacher. She is the author of Beyond Leveled Books (Stenhouse), Still Learning to Read (Stenhouse), Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop (Scholastic) and The Joy of Planning (Choice Literacy). She is also a regular contributor to Choice Literacy.

Mary Lee is a fifth grade teacher. She is the author of Reconsidering Read-Aloud (Stenhouse) and has poems in the Poetry Friday Anthology, the Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School, the Poetry Friday Anthology for Science, the Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations (Pomelo Books), Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food and Agriculture Poems, National Geographic Books of Nature Poems, The Best of Today's Little Ditty (2014-15 and 2016), and Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's Poems are Teachers.